:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/5708339/20121223_lbm_ax5_275.0.jpg)
Evenin'. We've got a late one tonight. The Knicks will finish their three-game Western road trip with a 10:00 EST contest in Sacramento. Carmelo Anthony, along with all the other people who usually don't play, will miss his second straight game because of a hyper-extended knee.
The Kings are quite bad and kind of a mess. It's not clear at this point whether the perpetually semi-suspended DeMarcus Cousins will play in this one, though the most recent suggestions were that he would. The rest of the Kings-- while quite bad and kind of a mess-- do pose a threat to the defensively troubled Knicks. Sacramento's team offense isn't good, but they've got enough Jimmers and Salmons and and Thorntons and misspelled former Knicks GMs running around to light New York's backcourt up if the usual switching/pick management problems abound. Also, like the Suns, the Kings are a winning home team at 8-7.
So, the depleted Knicks might have some more trouble in Sacramento tonight. Hopefully, they won't, and if they do, I hope they'll find a way to survive like they did in Phoenix.
After this: Sweet, sweet rest. A three-day break to close a tightly packed month of December. See y'all before 10 if I can keep myself awake.